Elevator system and elevator operation method

Abstract

To suppress unnecessary elevator movement by canceling automatic registration of a destination floor when there is no user in the car. [Solution] An elevator system that moves between two floors with a fixed destination floor includes a hall user detection unit, an in-car user detection unit, a call registration unit, and a call registration cancellation unit. The hall user detection unit is installed at each elevator hall and detects elevator users. The in-car user detection unit is installed in the car and detects users in the car. The call registration unit registers a hall call and a car call when an elevator user at a hall is detected by the hall user detection unit. The call registration cancellation unit cancels the registration of the car call when a user in the car is not detected by the in-car user detection unit after an elevator that responded to a hall call arrives at a hall floor and opens the doors.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE Embodiments of the present invention relate to elevator systems and methods of operating elevators. [Background technology]

[0002] For elevators that move between two floors, there is a technology that automatically registers a car call (also called a "destination floor call") for the other floor when a hall call is made on one floor. There is also technology that installs a human detection sensor on the hall button, and the sensor determines whether there is a person at the hall after the hall call is made, and cancels the hall call if there is no person. Furthermore, there is established technology that announces that after a wheelchair user enters a designated area of ​​the hall, if it is an up call, the person should move forward, and if it is a down call, the person should move backward, and the camera detects this movement and makes a hall call. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2015-113179 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2015-113205 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the conventional example, a passenger is detected by a hall sensor, and a hall call and a car call are automatically registered. Then, the passenger gets on the car and moves to the automatically registered destination floor. After the car moves, when the passenger gets off, the hall sensor executes a process to detect the passenger who has disembarked.

[0005] However, the hall sensor determines that a passenger who has disembarked is a new passenger and generates an elevator call for another floor, which causes the elevator to move to another floor with no passengers in it, resulting in unnecessary travelling operations.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an elevator system and an elevator operation method that can cancel automatic registration of destination floors when there is no user in the car, thereby reducing unnecessary elevator movements. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An embodiment for achieving the above object is an elevator system that moves between two floors with a fixed destination floor, and is equipped with a hall user detection unit, an in-car user detection unit, a call registration unit, and a call registration cancellation unit.

[0008] The hall user detection unit is installed at each elevator hall and detects elevator users. The car user detection unit is installed in the car and detects users in the car. The call registration unit registers a hall call and a car call when an elevator user at a hall is detected by the hall user detection unit. The call registration cancellation unit cancels the registration of the car call when no user in the car is detected by the car user detection unit after an elevator that responded to a hall call arrives at a hall floor and opens its doors. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of an elevator system according to first and second embodiments. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of the elevator system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3A] 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the elevator system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3B] 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the elevator system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the elevator system according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the elevator system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of an elevator system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the elevator system according to the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an elevator system according to an embodiment.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the elevator system 1A (1B) is assumed to have an elevator with a car 4 that moves in a hoistway 3 between the first and second floors of a building 2. A landing button 5 is provided at each of the first and second floor landings, and a destination floor button 6 is provided in the car 4. At least one of a landing human sensor (landing sensor) 11, a landing load sensor 12, and a landing camera 13 is provided at the landing of each floor as a landing user detection unit 10 that detects a user 7. At least one of an in-car human sensor (in-car sensor) 21, a car load sensor 22, a photocell sensor 23, and an in-car camera 24 is provided in the car 4 as an in-car user detection unit 20 that detects a user 7 in the car. The photocell sensor 23 is provided in the car, for example, on all four sides of a baseboard, and detects a user 7 in the car.

[0012] First Embodiment FIG. 2 shows a control configuration of the elevator system 1A of the first embodiment.

[0013] The elevator control device 30A, which is the control center of the elevator system 1A, includes a hall user detection signal input unit 31, an in-car user detection signal input unit 32, a call registration unit 33, a call registration cancellation unit , and a travel control unit .

[0014] The hall user detection signal input unit 31 inputs a detection signal when a hall user 7 is detected by at least one of the hall human presence sensor (hall sensor) 11, the hall load sensor 12, and the hall camera 13 serving as the hall user detection unit 10.

[0015] The in-car user detection signal input unit 32 inputs a detection signal when an in-car user 7 is detected by at least one of the in-car human presence sensor (in-car sensor) 21, the car load sensor 22, the photocell sensor 23 and the in-car camera 24, which serve as the in-car user detection unit 20.

[0016] When the hall user detection unit 10 detects an elevator user 7 at a hall, the call registration unit 33 registers a hall call and a car call (destination floor call).

[0017] A call registration cancellation unit 34 cancels the registration of the car call when a user 7 in the car is not detected by the car user detection unit 20 after the elevator that responded to the hall call arrives at the hall floor and opens the door.

[0018] The travel control unit 35 controls the travel of the elevator moving between the first floor and the second floor.

[0019] 3A and 3B are flowcharts showing the processing procedure of the elevator system of the first embodiment. In Fig. 3A and Fig. 3B, "landing sensor" refers to "landing human sensor 11" and "car sensor" refers to "car human sensor 21". In addition, the example shown in the figures assumes that a user 7 moves between the first floor and the second floor.

[0020] The hall user detection signal input unit 31 judges whether the hall human presence sensor 11 on the first floor detects a user 7 (step S1). When the user 7 is detected, the call registration unit 33 automatically registers a hall call (steps S1 YES, S2). Then, in response to the hall call, the car 4 arrives at the first floor, which is the hall call registration floor (departure floor) (steps S3, S4). After that, the car door opens, and the car call is automatically registered (steps S5, S6).

[0021] Next, it is determined whether the car interior human presence sensor 21 has detected the user 7 (step S7). If the user 7 is not detected, the car call is canceled and the process returns to step S1 (step S8). When the user 7 gets into the car 4 and the car interior human presence sensor 21 detects the user 7, door closing begins (step S9). After the door closing begins, if the hall human presence sensor 11 detects the user 7 (step S10 YES), it is determined that the user 7 is still present at the hall, and the car door is opened to allow the user 7 to board (step S11).

[0022] When the user 7 boards and the doors close, the vehicle starts moving to the destination floor (steps S12, S13). When the vehicle arrives at the destination floor, the doors open and the user 7 gets off (steps S14, S15, S16). When the landing motion sensor 11 at the destination floor detects the user 7 who has got off, a car call with the departure floor, the first floor, as the destination floor is automatically registered (steps S17, S18).

[0023] After the car call is automatically registered, it is determined whether or not the user 7 is detected by the human presence sensor 21 inside the car (step S19). If the user 7 is detected (step S19 YES), the car door closes and moves to the departure floor, which is the destination floor, and when the car arrives, the series of processes ends (steps S20, S21, S22). On the other hand, if no user is detected (step S19 NO), the car call is canceled, the door closes, and the car goes into standby mode (steps S23, S24).

[0024] The operation of the first embodiment will be specifically described with reference to Figures 4 and 5. In the example of Figures 4 and 5, the case where the second floor is the departure floor and the vehicle moves to the first floor is taken as an example.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 4(a), when the landing human sensor 11 installed on the ceiling of the second floor landing detects a user 7, the landing button 5 lights up, the elevator arrives, and the door opens. At that time, the destination floor registration is automatically registered, and the destination floor button 6 of the car 4 lights up. The user 7 gets into the car 4 and moves to the first floor. Then, as shown in FIG. 4(b), after arriving at the first floor, the car door opens and the user 7 gets off. When the user 7 in the car gets off, the landing human sensor 11 detects the user 7 who has disembarked, so a car call (destination floor call) is automatically registered even when no user is in the car. However, when the landing human sensor 11 detects a user at the time of disembarking, if the car human sensor 21 does not detect the user 7, the car call for the second floor is canceled.

[0026] Also, as shown in Fig. 5, when the hall human presence sensor 11 detects a user 7 at the hall, the hall button 5 lights up and a hall call is registered. When the elevator arrives and opens the doors, the destination floor is automatically registered and the destination floor button of the car 4 lights up. However, if the user 7 is not in the car 4 after the doors are closed, the car call is automatically canceled.

[0027] In this way, according to the first embodiment, when the hall human presence sensor 11 detects the user 7, a hall call and a car call are automatically registered, but when it is confirmed that the user is not getting on the car 4, the car call is cancelled. This makes it possible to prevent wasteful travel, such as the car 4 moving without the user 7 present.

[0028] <Second embodiment> The elevator system 1B of the second embodiment includes, as the hall user detection unit 10, two hall sensors, namely, a first hall user detection unit (first hall human presence sensor) 14 and a second hall user detection unit (second hall human presence sensor) 15. The elevator control device 30B also includes a first detection signal input unit 36 ​​that inputs a hall user detection signal from the first hall user detection unit (first hall human presence sensor) 14, and a second detection signal input unit 37 that inputs a hall user detection signal from the second hall user detection unit (second hall human presence sensor) 15. The other configurations are similar to those of the first embodiment.

[0029] Specifically, in the second embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, a first landing human presence sensor 14 is installed on the landing ceiling at a position far from the car 4, and a second landing human presence sensor 15 is installed on the side closer to the car 4 than the first landing human presence sensor 14. When a user 7 at the landing approaches the landing to use an elevator, a landing user detection signal is output in the order of the first landing human presence sensor 14 → the second landing human presence sensor 15. The first detection signal input unit 36 ​​and the second detection signal input unit 37 also input the landing user detection signals in this order. As a result, the call registration unit 33 automatically registers the landing call and the car call.

[0030] On the other hand, when a user 7 in the car arrives at a destination floor, opens the doors, and gets off, the second hall human presence sensor 15 outputs a hall user detection signal in the order of the first hall human presence sensor 14. The second detection signal input unit 37 and the first detection signal input unit 36 ​​also input hall user detection signals in this order. As a result, the call registration unit 33 determines that this is an action of the user 7 to get off, and does not register a hall call or a car call.

[0031] According to the second embodiment, the action of the user 7 is judged as to whether to board or disembark and then a decision is made as to whether to register a call, thereby making it possible to prevent unnecessary running of the cage 4 without the user 7 being present.

[0032] In each of the above embodiments, the hall human presence sensor 11 and the car interior human presence sensor 21 are used to detect users, but this is not limited to this. The hall user detection unit 10 may be at least one of the hall load sensor 12 and the hall camera 13, or a combination of these, in addition to the hall human presence sensor (car interior sensor) 11. The car interior user detection unit 20 may be at least one of the car load sensor 22, the photocell sensor 23 and the car interior camera 24, in addition to the car interior human presence sensor (car interior sensor) 21, or a combination of these.

[0033] In addition, in each embodiment, an elevator that moves between the first and second floors is assumed, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to all elevators that move between specific floors at a fixed position.

[0034] Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] Reference Signs List 1A, 1B... elevator system, 2... building, 3... elevator shaft, 4... car, 5... landing button, 6... destination floor button, 7... user, 10... landing user detection unit, 11... landing human presence sensor (landing sensor), 12... landing load sensor, 13... landing camera, 14... first landing user detection unit (first landing human presence sensor), 15... second landing user detection unit (second landing human presence sensor), 20... in-car use User detection unit, 21...in-car human sensor (in-car sensor), 22...car load sensor, 23...photocell sensor, 24...in-car camera, 30A, 30B...elevator control device, 31...landing user detection signal input unit, 32...in-car user detection signal input unit, 33...call registration unit, 34...call registration cancellation unit, 35...travel control unit, 36...first detection signal input unit, 37...second detection signal input unit

Claims

1. An elevator system for moving between two floors with a fixed destination floor, a hall user detection unit that is installed at each elevator hall and is configured to detect elevator users and includes at least one of a human presence sensor, a hall load sensor, and a hall camera; an in-car user detection unit that is installed in the car and is configured with at least one of a human presence sensor, a car load sensor, a photoelectric sensor, and an in-car camera to detect a user in the car; a call registration unit that registers a hall call when an elevator user at a hall is detected by the hall user detection unit, and registers a car call when the elevator arrives at the hall floor and opens the door in response to the hall call; a call registration cancellation unit that cancels the registration of the car call when a user in the car is not detected by the car user detection unit after the elevator that responded to the hall call arrives at the hall floor and opens its doors, The hall user detection unit is installed at least at a plurality of locations of the hall, The call registration unit determines whether a passenger gets on or off based on an input order of detection signals from the multiple hall user detection units, and decides whether to register a hall call and a car call.

2. 2. The elevator system according to claim 1, wherein the call registration unit assumes that a passenger in the car will get off and does not register a hall call when an input order of the detection signals from the hall user detection units is such that a detection signal from a hall user detection unit closer to a car door is input earlier than a detection signal from a hall user detection unit farther from the car door, but registers a hall call when the detection signal from the hall user detection unit farther from the car door is input first.

3. An operation method for an elevator that moves between two floors with a fixed destination floor, comprising: a landing user detection unit that is installed at a plurality of locations at each landing of the elevator and that detects elevator users and is composed of at least one of a human presence sensor, a landing load sensor, and a landing camera; and a car in-car user detection unit that is installed in the car and that detects users in the car and is composed of at least one of a human presence sensor, a car load sensor, a photoelectric sensor, and an in-car camera, the method comprising: When the hall user detection unit detects an elevator user at the hall, the call registration unit registers a hall call, and registers a car call when the elevator arrives at the hall floor and opens the door in response to the hall call, After the elevator that responded to the hall call arrives at the hall floor and opens the door, if a user in the car is detected by the car in-car user detection unit, the elevator moves to the destination floor, and if a user in the car is not detected, the registration of the car call is canceled and the elevator waits; When the elevator, in which a user in a car has been detected by the car-in-user detection unit, arrives at a destination floor and the doors open, and the hall user detection unit detects the user, a car call is registered; when the hall user detection unit detects the user after the doors open and the car-in-user detection unit does not detect the user in the car, it is determined that the user has disembarked, and the registration of the car call is canceled; The call registration unit does not register a hall call, assuming that a user in the car will get off, when an input order of detection signals from a plurality of hall user detection units is such that a detection signal from a hall user detection unit closer to the car door is input earlier than a detection signal from a hall user detection unit farther from the car door, but registers a hall call when the detection signal from the hall user detection unit farther from the car door is input first.

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